Barack Obama's presidential campaign today announced it has opened 24 offices in Pennsylvania, ramping up its effort to win a state that again is poised to play a key role in the race.

The announcement, made in a conference call, was the first outreach the campaign has made directly to Pennsylvania reporters in months and signals the start of the campaign's push in the state.

"That is unprecedented in all the presidential campaigns I’ve been involved in," Gov. Ed Rendell, who was on the call, said of the office openings. "That type of visibility on the ground is incredible."

Obama state director Craig Schirmer, brought on board earlier this month, said the campaign plans to organize more than 700 "neighborhood teams" of volunteers throughout the state and target the more than 1 million unregistered voters ahead of the Oct. 6 registration deadline.